3 out of 5

Produced by: Taylor Kirk and Simon Trottier

Label: Arts and Crafts

‘Hot Dreams’ being only my second TT record, I can’t say whether or not it represents a change in sound, or an evolution, or just another variation on a theme.  The previous album, ‘Creep On Creepin’ On’ was dripping in droopy folk balladry, main man Taylor emoting creepy love songs that would swell into poignant bursts of sound or muted emotion (yes, muted bursts).  ‘Hot Dreams’ is equally committed to a sound, though this time it’s a crooner, soul vibe.  It still fits within the oeuvre, but it’s a bit more paced and dreamy, making the highlights slow to come to light.  And even when the magic does take over – the subtle keys on ‘Bring Me Simple Men’ adding wonderful dimension to the track; ‘This Low Commotion’ a well-earned explosion of Kirk’s more intense vocalizations – the moments are spread between enough spoken, hummed lyrics and forever plodding drums that it’s very easy to miss them.  ‘Beat the Drum Slowly’ somewhat sets the standard for what’s to come, taking its time to fade in to the theme and beat, waiting quite a while to shuffle some momentum into the final moments.  ‘Curtains?!’ – unsurprisingly our single – is rather misleadingly intense, echoed later on by the instrumental ‘Resurrection Drive Pt II’ and some sound effects that pop up in the penultimate ‘Run From Me,’ which stands as a pretty good representation of the juxtaposition between this album – slow, monotone peaceful creep – and the unnerving elements of the previous one, as the song frequently pauses to let some discordant ambiance ring out before sinking back into its easy beat.

‘Hot Dreams’ has some amazing moments and absolutely sounds like Timber Timbre.  However, it’s also pushing the style to an extreme sense of minimalism, the laundry list of instruments in the liner notes only vague glimmers during the relatively short runtime.  Patient listeners will find favorite songs and some amazingly cutting lyrics, but casual ears hoping for more tracks like ‘Curtains?!’ might find themselves bored.